A Message from the Director-General
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A message from the Director-General I am very glad to be able to contribute this introduction to the first CERN COURIER of 1962. We have been without our journal for quite a long time, but we can now look forward to seeing it regularly again once a month. CERN COURIER is an important publication of ours, because not only does it serve to link together all members of the Organization, and their families, but it also has a strong part to play in showing CERN to the member States and to other parts of the world. This institution is remarkable in two ways: It is a place where the most fantastic experiments are carried out. It is a place where international co-operation actually exists. These two statements call for some explanation: It is difficult to appreciate the full significance of an activity if all one's energy is devoted to it. The everyday work accomplished at CERN Message from the Director- hides its real importance, the tremendous impact of what is going on General 2 here. What I am tempted to call the 'romantic glory' of our work is over looked. But you must never forget that in the PS, at the moment when Last year at CERN 3 the beam hits a target, at the moment when matter undergoes a transfer Radiation safety at CERN . 4 of energy, you have created conditions which probably do not exist Johan Baarli 8 anywhere else in the universe, not even in the explosions of super-nova stars. What an opportunity to penetrate the innermost structure of matter CERN theoretical conference . 9 in conditions never created even by Nature ! 50th anniversary of the Solvay But CERN is also a centre of international co-operation, unique of its Physics Meeting 10 kind. There are other examples of such co-operation in economic, politi They worked at CERN .... 10 cal, and military fields. But all our work is for an idealistic aim, for pure science without commercial or any other interests. Our effort is a symbol 19th session of CERN Council . 13 of what science really means, namely the exploration of Nature by Man. Nuclear-emulsion work at Here, differences based on nationalities are non-existent. And, in this CERN 14 respect, CERN is the only really scientific laboratory, because it is international. CERN is now passing from the first period, of machine construction, The cover photograph shows ihe large to the second, the period of scientific research with the machines. The electrostatic separator, the second of a first period has been a heroic one. CERN has accomplished an incredible series of three built by the NPA Division, task which is outstanding in the history of accelerators. Many people installed in the South experimental hall thought Europe would never be capable of such an effort. In fact of the synchrotron. In ihe background are a portable radiation barrier and con Europe managed it even better than others. crete shielding (an article on radiation We now possess two of the best accelerators in the world. One, the safety begins on p. 4). PS machine, which, together with the Brookhaven accelerator in the Photo credits: all photos by CERN/PIO, U.S.A., is the largest machine in the world ; the other, the SC machine except p. 11: Couprie, Brussels. which is smaller but still an extremely useful tool of research. We must do our best to exploit these machines for scientific dis coveries. For this purpose many large instruments have to be built. We CERN COURIER need bubble chambers, separators, beam transport equipment, and many is published monthly in English and in other things which have still to be built. French. It is distributed free of charge to At the same time, we are beginning to perform experiments, and to CERN employees, and others interested discover new phenomena and new facts of nature. The work at CERN in the construction and use of particle has already contributed much to the knowledge of the structure of the accelerators or in the progress of nuc elementary particles which make up atoms. If we are successful, the next lear physics in general. few years at CERN will be most interesting and exciting. The beams of The text of any article may be reprint the accelerators at CERN penetrate the innermost parts of the atom. ed if credit is given to CERN COURIER CERN therefore presents a unique opportunity to the physicists of Copies of most illustrations are avail Europe for solving some of the most important questions: What is the able to editors, without charge. structure of the proton and the neutron ; what are the constituents of Published by the atomic nuclei; what is the nature of the nuclear force which keeps them European Organization for together and which is the cause of nuclear energy ; what is the secret of radioactivity ; and what are the properties of anti-matter ? Nuclear Research (CERN) All these questions and many others are under study here, in inter PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE national collaboration: fourteen nations are exploring the unknown. Roger Anthoine Editor: Alec G. Hester CERN, Geneva 23, Switzerland Tel.: 34 20 50 Printed in Switzerland 2 BRINGING THE RECORD UP TO DATE Last year at CERN Owing to the long time since the last appearance of CERN control desk was installed in August, and a platform erected COURIER, our usual feature 'Last month at CERN' requires a in the North hall to act as a centre for counting and control temporary change of title. Unfortunately it is not possible equipment belonging to the experiments. The accelerator to cover in detail all the events of the past year, but if is can now produce secondary beams of 120-milliseconds hoped that the following account includes the chief items of duration, and a 6-headed target assembly is also being interest and gives an idea of what has been happening used with success. recently at CERN. In June, there were altogether 44 standard magnets and From the beginning of the year, the laboratory was lenses available for the guidance of secondary beams from reorganized infernally into twelve divisions, indicative of its the PS. To supply them with power the new generator broadened scope and increased emphasis on experimental building houses 30 generators with outputs ranging from 40 work, following the full operation of the second particle to 320 kW together with 4 of 1500 kW each. accelerator. The divisions are : PS Machine, SC Machine, In the first ten months of 1961 the synchro-cyclotron Nuclear Physics, Engineering, Data Handling, Theory, Track provided 5361 hours operating time for nuclear physics, Chambers, Nuclear Physics Apparatus, Accelerator Research, apart from over 1000 hours when 'parasite' experiments Site and Buildings, Finance, and General Administration. Then were possible. In this time only 195 hours were lost because on 1 August, J. B. Adams left for England, to be replaced as of machine faults. In addition to the Easter holiday, Director-General by Prof. V. F. Weisskopf. The 19th Session there was one shut-down of 10 days in mid June and of the Council, reported briefly elsewhere in this issue, took another in October. place at CERN on 2 June, and the 20th on 19 December. The internal beam intensity was raised during the year A noticeable change has been brought about in the from 0,3 to 0,8 \xA, by mixing small amounts of argon in appearance of the site by the progress on new building the hydrogen supply to the ion source, and improving the projects. In April, 1120 m2 of floor was laid in the courtyard electrostatic focusing near the source. Another way of at the eastern end of the South experimental hall of the increasing the usefulness of this accelerator has been the proton synchrotron, followed two months later by roofing, installation of devices designed to increase the duty ratio thus providing another large area for engineering and of infernally produced secondary beams. An increase from auxiliary experimental work. A further wing was added to below 1 % to about 25% is achieved. Further studies and the adjacent laboratory block. One result of these changes experiments are continuing to augment the intensify and was to enable the Engineering Division to release the space improve the duty ratio of the extracted proton beam. Twelve it formerly occupied in the South hall. For the new East new generators of a total capacity of 680 kW have been experimental area the large triangular apron has been laid installed to supply beam transport equipment. and the new building at the end of it has already started to Among activities in the Engineering Division, two proto receive sections of the 1,5 m British Hydrogen Bubble types of controlled semi-conductor rectifiers were built, one Chamber. The neighbouring compressor and generator rated at 500 A, 125 V, the other at 100 A, 25 V. Such buildings to serve this and the CERN 2-m hydrogen bubble rectifiers, used instead of motor-generator sets, will simplify chamber that will also be installed, are more or less finished, the provision of power for beam-transport magnets. Other and at the end of the year a 10-m-diameter steel sphere was applications of semi-conductors, developed by the Nuclear being completed at one corner of the apron. This is to Physics Division, are transistorized scalers, fast pulse ampli accept in the form of gas the whole volume of hydrogen fiers, etc. from either chamber in case of emergency. Still on the subject of new equipment, the magnet The NPA building, for development of nuclear physics armature for the CERN 2-m hydrogen bubble chamber was apparatus was brought info operation in June, and parts of completed at the manufacturers' works towards the end of the new building for the Accelerator Research Division in the year.